Ahmad Bin Shafar

NEW YORK CITY, New York, United States, 24 September 2019: Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), participated in a panel discussion, titled ‘The Current State of SDG 7: Energy Efficiency’, along with Minister of Mines and Energy, Government of Colombia; Minister of the Environment, Government of Italy; and Director General, European Partnership for Energy and the Environment, as part of the Energy Action Forum: “Accelerating Energy Transition 2020 and Beyond”, the Dubai, UAE-headquartered District Cooling utility said through a Press Release. The Forum took place in the ongoing United Nations’ Climate Action Summit 2019 at the UN headquarters in New York City.

According to the release, the Forum aims to unite the efforts of global leaders through their governments, along with the private sector and civil society, and accelerate actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It also supports the multilateral process to save the planet from climate change, further accelerate ambitious climate actions and improve energy use, and enhance communication and collaborative action through targeted communication to relevant policy makers, regulators, investors, financial organisations, energy project developers, industrial partners and civil society actors, the release said.

Attended by 200 business leaders and government organisations, the Forum was enriched by the presence of a number of decision makers in the public and private sectors in the energy sector, in addition to investors and solution providers.

“Governments should establish strong policies and abandon conventional solutions to support global efforts for energy efficiency,” Bin Shafar said during the Forum. “Corporations also can play their role by forming action plans to transform existing energy-consuming to energy-saving products and solutions, adopt innovative solutions in operations, and financing actions for energy efficiency.

“As for consumers, public awareness campaigns should be implemented to foster the culture of energy efficiency. Alternative solutions should be promoted to replace conventional methods, agencies should be encouraged to fund for energy-efficiency actions, and confidence should be built among governments and corporations to adopt efficient solutions in key sectors, including cooling, transportation and manufacturing.”

Bin Shafar stressed that District Cooling is an effective alternative solution that reduces carbon emissions. It provides clean and efficient cooling and accelerates the shift away from fossil fuels, he said. The use of innovative technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), in District Cooling operations has increased the operational efficiency of the sector, he added. Bin Shafar highlighted that the UAE Vision 2021 is one of the live example of action for energy efficiency, which has scored 77% in quality of air in the UAE, as per a 2018 report, he further added.

“The key factors that will make energy efficiency fulfill its 40% plus promise on the Paris Agreement, include the development of strong regulatory and monitoring systems across countries, implementing public awareness campaigns to educate and build confidence, adoption of efficient solutions like District Cooling, which saves electricity up to 50%, standardisation of energy management systems, and financing for energy efficiency,” Bin Shafar said. The current examples of best practices across energy efficiency, Bin Shafar said, are the successful stories of the Dubai model of District Cooling, which supports the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, which aims to achieve 75% of clean energy by 2050, and to meet 40% of the cooling demand through District Energy solutions by 2030.